Monday, March 31, 2014

America was released by Zoya as part of its La-Di-Da collection for summer 2009. Officially described as a "bright bold medium retro tomato-red creme," this is a beautiful vibrant true red, gorgeous and resplendent in its radiance, with a juicy sexy 50s pin-up vibe. It registers as red even in the lowest of lights and is truly what I think of as a red statement polish. Every polish wardrobe needs a nice bright red creme and I can't imagine a better one than this. Application was great. This is Zoya's formula at its best: fluid, creamy and dense with superb flow over the nail and excellent self-leveling qualities. Pigmentation is outstanding with completely opaque coverage in one coat if you paint carefully. Needless to say, my shaky hands needed two coats. Cleaning up needs a little more attention than usual as this polish will stain cuticles and leave wisps of red over the skin. America dries naturally in good time to a lovely glossy finish, which is enhanced and protected with a nice topcoat. Photos show two delicious coats of America over treatment and basecoat with a topcoat of Seche le Vite.

Bright, bold, medium retro tomato-red creme.b

Zoya America

Zoya America

Zoya America

Zoya America

Zoya America

Zoya America

Zoya America

Zoya America

Zoya America

How delicious is that?! Oh my goodness this is such a brilliant, iconic polish, very Marilyn!

America may be just a little cooler in person than it shows in my photos, but it isn't an overly cool red by any means. It's a true red! This is my second bottle of this polish. I gave the first one to my sister, but I could never get this beauty out of my head and finally tracked down another bottle on ebay. I'm so glad I did!love,Liz

Sunday, March 30, 2014

Fancy Pants was released by China Glaze as part of the Blooming Brights half of its twelve-polish Avant Garden collection for spring 2013. It's a medium-dark slightly muted indigo creme dusted with sparkly pink shimmers that are subtle but still quite apparent on the nail, especially in bright direct light, and which give Fancy Pants a pretty magenta glow, add dimensional interest to the color overall and set it apart from other indigo cremes.Application was a snap. This polish has a fluid, creamy consistency that is easily manipulated over the nail with China Glaze's relatively long slender brush, and stays where you put it without running or pooling. It has excellent self-leveling properties and very good pigmentation with opacity easily achieved in two coats. Cleanup is straightforward and easy as this is a non-stainer, hooray! Fancy Pants dries naturally in very good time to a smooth shiny surface.Photos show two coats of Fancy Pants over Seche Rebuild treatment and Butter London Nail Foundation basecoat with a topcoat of Seche Vite to pop the color, especially those pink shimmers, and hasten dry time.

China Glaze Fancy Pants

China Glaze Fancy Pants

China Glaze Fancy Pants

China Glaze Fancy Pants

China Glaze Fancy Pants

China Glaze Fancy Pants

China Glaze Fancy Pants

China Glaze Fancy Pants

China Glaze Fancy Pants

China Glaze Fancy Pants

China Glaze Fancy Pants

China Glaze Fancy Pants

I like this polish a lot. In spite of it's slightly dusty look, it has a lucid aspect to it that has a lot of verve and energy. The subtle complexity and pretty glow (which I totally failed to capture in my photos) provided by the pink shimmer gives it a secret squirrel dash of femininity that I appreciate. It's more than a typical Crayola kind of color. Fancy Pants is a very gracefully composed polish that seems to me to be appropriate for any time of the year. Add to that its easy application and it's an all around win, especially if you like blues and purples. love,Liz

Saturday, March 29, 2014

The March polish duo, Shadows Grow So Long and Fireflies Under the Pines, from indie polish maker Pahlish is special to the folks behind Pahlish as it celebrates Shannon and Josh's wedding on 1 March. Congratulations, guys! Not only that, it is also an extraordinarily gorgeous pairing of two beautifully crafted lacquers. I always admire Shannon's monthly base and topper duos, but this is the first one I've purchased. What have I been waiting for?? In my defense, I've been fiscally strapped, but I think I'm going to make a point of checking out the monthly duo from Pahlish before I decide on any other polish purchases for that month. The descriptions of these two on Pahlish's website are excellent and I'm going to refer to them here. The base polish of the duo, Shadows Grow So Long is a "soft lavender cream with purple, lavender, iridescent gold, and scattered iridescent charcoal flakes." It's an exquisitely speckled lavender confection that is simply perfect for this time of year.Application was fantastic. Shadows Grow So Long has a fluid, creamy consistency that lays down smoothly and evenly over the nail. Pigmentation is very good with complete opacity in two light coats. This polish dries naturally in very good time to a glossy finish.Photos show two coats of Shadows Grow So Long over treatment and basecoat with no topcoat to show the natural glossy finish.

Pahlish Shadows Grow So Long

Pahlish Shadows Grow So Long

Pahlish Shadows Grow So Long

Pahlish Shadows Grow So Long

Pahlish Shadows Grow So Long

The topper of the duo, Fireflies Under the Pines, contains "satin lavender dots, lavender metallic and holographic glitter, and
caramel metallic glitter accented by lavender-gold flake shimmer and
iridescent purple hex" in a purple-tinted transparent suspension base. I had no problems applying this gorgeous creation. I brushed it on as I would a regular polish and it went on smoothly with each brushful dispensing a nice range of glitter components over the nail in an appropriately random fashion. Photos show two coats of Fireflies Under the Pines over the Shadows Grow so Long manicure above with a topcoat of HK Girl.

Pahlish Fireflies Under the Pines over Shadows Grow So Long

Pahlish Fireflies Under the Pines over Shadows Grow So Long

Pahlish Fireflies Under the Pines over Shadows Grow So Long

Pahlish Fireflies Under the Pines over Shadows Grow So Long

Pahlish Fireflies Under the Pines over Shadows Grow So Long

Pahlish Fireflies Under the Pines over Shadows Grow So Long

This is such a gorgeous pairing in person, with a delicate and refined yet overt sparkle and stunning visual texture and dimensionality. It feels like I have a chic spring party dress on my nails. I love it so much I feel like I could wear it forever!love,Liz

Friday, March 28, 2014

Lilac Dreams from indie polish maker KBShimmer was one of the first polishes I swatched for this blog, back in April of last year. If you'd like to see that post, you can do so here. From KBShimmer's website description, Lilac Dreams is a "luscious shade that depending on the light, shifts slightly from a
medium purple to a lovely shade of pink. Holographic glitter in aqua
blue and sliver add sparkle and shine while a scattering of micro black
and silver glitter adds depth to the color." This beautiful medium-light purple shimmer polish has a transparent base packed with foily platelet shimmers that shift to pink in low light and sparkle with blue and multicolored sparks.Application was trouble-free. This polish has a consistency that is fluid and light, almost loamy. It has good even flow over the nail in spite of all the components and self-levels very well. Coverage is very good with sufficient opacity in two coats, although I did three. Lilac dreams dries in very good time to a slightly textured satin finish.Photos show three coats of Lilac Dreams over treatment and basecoat with a topcoat of Seche Vite.

KBShimmer Lilac Dreams

KBShimmer Lilac Dreams

KBShimmer Lilac Dreams

KBShimmer Lilac Dreams

KBShimmer Lilac Dreams

KBShimmer Lilac Dreams

KBShimmer Lilac Dreams

KBShimmer Lilac Dreams

KBShimmer Lilac Dreams

KBShimmer Lilac Dreams

KBShimmer Lilac Dreams

KBShimmer Lilac Dreams

There's a dustiness to this foily shimmer polish that is quite fetching, especially in low light when the polish is constantly shifting between purple and cool pink. The holographic glitters are a particularly magical touch, their small size is perfect both to accent the dreamy purple foil and to throw eye-catching sparks from within it. There's a lot going on in this polish and it's careful complex composition brings you a whole that is much more that the sum of its parts. love,Liz

Thursday, March 27, 2014

School of Hard Rocks was released by Essie as part of its Cocktail Bling collection for winter 2011. It was described by Essie as a "midnight malachite." *eye roll* Marketing! It's like the the little girl who had a little curl right in the middle of her forehead. School of Hard Rocks is a medium-dark grey-infused teal green, soft and dusky. My immediate thought was of China Glaze Exotic Encounters, but Exotic Encounters is lighter and brighter. Where Exotic Encounters is a soft washed flannel, School of Hard Rocks is a plush dusty velvet. If you love Exotic Encounters, you will adore School of Hard Rocks.Application was dreamy. The consistency is fluid, creamy and dense and applies smoothly and evenly over the nail. Pigmentation is excellent. School of Hard Rocks, applied liberally, is a contender for the one-coat contingent, but use two to get the most out of the rich color and fabulous self-levelling qualities of the formula. This is one of those Essies that brings on full blown application bliss, the relatively thin and flexible brush and the formula working together in exquisite accord. Clean up is straightforward and without pitfall. School of Hard Rocks dries naturally in very good time to a beautiful glossy finish. Photos show two easy coats of School of Hard Rocks over treatment and basecoat with a topcoat of Seche Vite.

Essie School of Hard Rocks

Essie School of Hard Rocks

Essie School of Hard Rocks

Essie School of Hard Rocks

Essie School of Hard Rocks

Essie School of Hard Rocks

Essie School of Hard Rocks

Essie School of Hard Rocks

Essie School of Hard Rocks

I did hesitate a tiny bit when I went to grab up School of Hard Rocks to swatch. Clearly it's not the most conformative to spring dictates. But School of Hard Rocks abounds with an air of comfortable easy elegance that I prize in a polish. It's the kind of thing where you put it on, reflect on it and then feel immensely happy with yourself for choosing it. This is one of those polishes with the endearing quality of reflecting well on your aesthetic. It is beautiful, chic and singular without being obvious about it. love,Liz